By: Landen Broocke, William & Mary
Hi there! My name is Landen Broocke, and I am a rising senior at the College of William & Mary studying History and Government. I grew up with a deep love for learning about the world, and that curiosity has shaped pretty much everything about my time in college. I’ve long been passionate about the history and politics of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as education and the ways it can bring people together.
Looking ahead, I’m hoping to pursue a career that weaves together my love of history, education, and international work, whether that’s in teaching, policy, or the nonprofit world. I don’t have every detail figured out yet, but this summer in Sarajevo feels like exactly the kind of experience that will help point me in the right direction.
In the coming weeks, I will be traveling to Bosnia and Herzegovina alongside three fellow William & Mary students to conduct research and run an educational program for local youth. When I first heard about this opportunity, I genuinely couldn’t believe it existed. It checked every single box for me: international education, cross-cultural exchange, and a region of the world that I have been fascinated by for years through my own reading and research. When I found out I had been selected, I was absolutely over the moon!
This opportunity is called the American-Bosnian Collaboration (ABC) Project, and it has actually been running for 27 years now. The project was originally created in the aftermath of the fall of Yugoslavia and the war in Bosnia, with a mission of promoting peace and reconciliation through education. Since its founding in 1999, each year’s team of students has carried forward that core mission while adapting the specific focus of their research. That means there is a rich body of scholarship to draw on, and I am very excited to add our own addition to it this summer.
This year, our team has centered our research on the role of storytelling in building intercultural communicative competence among students. Throughout the program, we’ll guide students
through character development, teach them how to construct story mountains, and wrap everything up with students writing and performing their own skits for friends and family. It’s creative, it’s collaborative, and I think it’s going to be really exciting to watch come to life.
Preparing for this project was no small undertaking, and in fact we spent the spring semester taking a course designed to set us up for success this summer. We dove deep into Bosnia’s history and cultural landscape, learned the ins-and-outs of research ethics, worked with professionals to develop our ESL teaching skills, and spent a lot of time crafting and refining our lesson plans. It was honestly one of the most valuable courses I’ve taken at W&M, and I feel so much more prepared and confident heading into the summer because of it.
One of the things I love most about this project is the collaboration woven into every part of it. Each W&M student has been paired with a student from the University of Sarajevo’s English education Masters program, and together we’re co-developing and co-teaching lessons. My co-teacher is Adna, and getting to work with her over the past few weeks has already been one of the highlights of this experience. There’s something really valuable about building a curriculum alongside someone who brings a completely different background and perspective to the table. It’s pushed my thinking in ways I didn’t expect, and I cannot wait to finally meet her in person in Sarajevo.
We’ll be working with the youngest group in the program, students ages 11 and 12, which both Adna and I are very excited about. Kids that age bring so much creativity and openness to the classroom, and I have a strong feeling we’ll end up learning just as much from them as they learn from us. We’re also partnering with Creativus, a local NGO, which makes the whole experience feel wonderfully rooted in the community we’ll be living and working in.
There’s something about doing research in the place you’re actually studying that you simply can’t replicate anywhere else. I’ve read a lot about Bosnia’s history, its cultural landscape, and its complexities, but being there in person, talking to people, walking through the city, and experiencing it all firsthand is going to add a dimension of understanding that no book or classroom can fully provide.
I’m hoping to explore Sarajevo as much as possible while I’m there. It’s a city so rich in culture, history, and, of course, good food, and I want to take full advantage of every moment. During our first week, the project team will also travel to Mostar, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which I’m especially excited about. If time allows, I’d also love to explore more of the surrounding country.
As I prepare to embark on this trip in the coming weeks, I am filled with excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to be part of this project. I’m approaching this experience with an open mind, plenty of enthusiasm, and an eagerness to learn from everyone around me: my students, my co-teacher, our partners, and the city of Sarajevo itself.
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